Working Girl The TV screens that tiled the walls of the large empty room flickered constantly from one picture to the next, every television showing a different image and no two ever the same image twice in a row. The sound had been turned down low but the whispering voices of the murmuring images still filled the room with noise, echoing off the bare, white washed walls and magnifying their volume enormously. The slender woman sat silently in the middle of the room, her legs crossed and her lightly curled hands resting palm up on her silk clad thighs. Black hair fell in a thick braid down her back, twitching occasionally with the minute movements of her head as she turned her closed eyes from one screen to the other. Every flicker of her closed eyelids heralded the mercury swift change of another image. The stillness of her posture was broken abruptly as she reached up with an elegant hand and unfolded the microphone from the side of her neck, where it had been hidden under her rich dark hair. Positioning it in front of her mouth she began to speak, her voice an emotionless tenor monotone. “Project B41.” As she spoke the images on the screen changed, half of them displaying fifty different images of a small, stocky man with beady black eyes and a cruel twist to his mouth. The other fifty screens scrolled through the information she’d gathered on him over the past week. “Inform Mr.. Deshau that his suspicions were correct. His son-in-law, Ethan Chandly, was in fact the cause of his first wife’s death. However, he did not arrange the woman’s death, she was killed by a hitman employed by a business acquaintance of Mr Chandly. The hit was actually aimed at Mr Chandly but he pushed his wife into the assassin’s path and ran away. According to my investigation the hit is still to go ahead and Chandly will be dead by the end of the week.” Pausing she swallowed and shifted position slightly, raising a hand to pull the fabric of her loose silk shirt away from her chest. “Project Lachesis.” The images shifted yet again, this time to display a set of teenagers. A dark haired young man with sharp eyes, a dangerously grinning young man whose face was covered with fur, a tall, confident looking blonde girl, a red haired young boy and a darkly beautiful young woman. “Inform Lachesis that subject D has been removed from the equation and now is effectively beyond your reach. The subject's powers are not valuable enough to warrant an attempt to coerce him into joining the school, nor does it seem likely that such an attempt would be successful since the subject has quite impressive protectors. The other subjects are all available for acquisition, although her psychological profile suggests that Subject C would not prove an appropriate candidate for your school.” Pausing she wet her lips slightly, tilting her head to the side and narrowing her eyes at the changing images as she spoke. “As for the remaining subjects, A’s psychological profile also suggests that he would have intense moral conflicts with any sort of criminal activity. While you could alter him to make him more agreeable I believe that would make him less effective. However, his mutant powers and his genius level IQ suggest that making the effort would be well worth while. Subject B is a possible recruit for you, though not an ideal one. He is a troubled young man who is possibly implicated in the death of his mother's lover. Morally he would seem ideal for inclusion in the project since he seems to have none. However, he is emotionally unsuited to teamwork since he is unable, or at least unlikely, to form the emotional bonds required for a combat team to be optimally successful. You might be able to recruit him anyhow with sufficient inducements or manipulations but he would probably be a more effective assassin than a team player. Nevertheless it's your decision to make. Finally I’m afraid that I cannot provide you with a complete analysis of Subject E due to her recent flight from her home, although I would tentatively recommend her recruitment. I have attempted to track her down but I’ve been unable to do so. What little I was able to ascertain was that her power required the death of other mutants, whether as nourishment for herself or to fuel her powers I do not know, and that the last place in which she was seen was New York. Considering the nature of powers she would seem to be an unwise choice for a team composed of other young mutants unless you had some way to ensure her loyalty and self-control. If you do decide to track her down I would recommend following up any unusual deaths that occur in the area, her power leaves quite distinctive traces if you know what to look for. Included is the autopsy report I had my employees make. I have not quite finished my inquiries into your secondary request though I should be done by the end of the week. A tentative conclusion has, however, already been reached and I believe that your suspicions are correct. There are noticeable differences in the subject’s behavior and I have been unable to track any information on the subject’s supposed progeny.” As she finished speaking the slender woman lifted the delicate, porcelain mug that had been sitting at her side and sipped at the tart, herbal tea. The chill that had come over the liquid surprised her slightly, she would have sworn she’d only poured it less that a quarter of an hour ago. With a shrug she swallowed the tepid mouthful, setting the teacup down beside her and then pushing the sleeve of her silk shirt back to reveal a thoroughly modern and rather complicated wristwatch. She frowned slightly as she read the LED display; it was later that she had thought. Time to wind up work for the day. “Finally to Morgan. Mr. Chandly should be terminated by the end of the week.” Uncurling herself she rose gracefully to a standing position, absently mindedly shaking out her loose silk pants and rotating her bare feet to dispel the faint numbness. “Incidentally, I would add that her pawn’s urges are starting to get the better of her and she should be reined in before she jeopardizes the mission further. Should Mr.. Deshau find out that you were the one responsible for his daughter’s death you will have a hard time acquiring that munitions factory of his. As it is he’s still trying to find someone else who can offer him the requisite money within the deadline. I’m afraid he dislikes you quite intensely, possibly due to the fact that he applied to your organization a few years ago and was rejected. I doubt that he’ll find anyone in time but I’ve taken the liberty of encouraging his debtor’s to pursue the matter more enthusiastically. Barring any unforeseen occurrence Mr. Deshau will be yours by the weekend.” As she finished she folded the microphone back under her hair and walked gracefully over to the elaborate; stream lined computer neatly recessed in the corner of the room. Checking that the voice files had been saved and filed she ran her hands over the computer and relaxed. As she walked out of the room the lights dimmed and the almost inaudible hum of the air conditioner faded into silence. The monitors continued to flicker, images and fragments of conversations appearing and disappearing with disorienting speed. Occasionally one of the fragments would be flagged, a red light flickering into life on the computer as the information was downloaded and saved. The soft whisper and hiss of conversation and static echoing eerily around the empty room. Three rooms over, in the room tiled with still more monitors, the slender woman curled herself up on her bed and watched the flickering screens through half lowered lids. Struggling to stay awake despite the fact that she’s not slept in days, trying to stave off the nightmares for as long as she could. Mr. Deshau is a figment of my imagination. Lachesis is Emmett Frost The youths described were meant to be Kit Pryde, Feral, Sally Guthrie, Ray Sinclair and Monet St Croix The secondary inquiry was about Carolyn’s deaging and her adoption of her daughter’s persona (She did do this before the rape didn’t she?) Morgan (Morganna le Fey) was the Black Queen and her pawn was Victoria Creed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Recipes, relationships. Horoscopes, health. Fashion, fitness. If it's about women, it's at HomeArts.com. http://offers.egroups.com/click/212/0 eGroup home: http://www.eGroups.com/list/xxy Free Web-based e-mail groups by eGroups.com